Apparatus and method for processing additional information in television

ABSTRACT

An additional information processing apparatus and method selectively processes and stores additional information contained in a TV broadcast signal according to specifications set by a user, subdivides information of the type of additional information received in real time, and displays the information on a screen. Additional information contained in a broadcast signal is classified by type before transmission. Only additional information of the type(s) desired by a user is selected and acquired from the received additional information. The type(s) of additional information acquired is (are) displayed on a screen in real time. Accordingly, only the additional information needed by the user is selectively stored in memory and memory can be efficiently used. Since the type(s) of additional information received is (are) displayed on the screen in detail, the user can easily understand the type(s) of additional information being received currently so that the additional information can be effectively used. In addition, subdivided additional information suitable for the various classes of TV viewers can be developed so that additional information contents can be efficiently developed.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, andclaims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from my applicationAPPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING AN ADDING INFORMATION ON TELEVISIONfiled with the Korean Industrial Property Office on 9 Mar. 2001 andthere duly assigned Ser. No. 12242/2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processinginformation in a television (TV), and more particularly, to anadditional information processing apparatus and method for selectivelyprocessing and storing additional information contained in a TVbroadcast signal according to specifications set by a user, forsubdividing information on the type of additional information receivedin real time, and for displaying the information on a screen.

2. Related Art

As data processing techniques develop, a TV station transmits varioustypes of additional information, including general information on TVprograms, in addition to video and audio signals. A TV receiver receivesthe additional information, and uses the additional informationaccording to a TV viewer's request.

For such data broadcasts in an analog broadcast system, the additionalinformation is embedded in a predetermined horizontal synchronizingsignal section, which does not influence the picture that is displayed,and is then transmitted. Thus, there is a limit to the amount ofadditional information which can he transmitted. Consequently, variousinformation services cannot be provided. However, as digital broadcastsystems have developed, a large amount of additional information whichTV viewers can conveniently use can be provided. Accordingly, manydifferent types of additional information, such as that relating toeducation, games and on-line commerce information, as well as generalprogram information, can be provided.

In conventional television, all additional information received isstored in a memory, regardless of the type of additional information.Accordingly, waste of the capacity of memory occurs. Moreover, sinceunnecessary additional information is stored in the memory, a usersuffers inconvenience in utilizing the additional information. Inaddition, a user cannot recognize in detail the type of informationreceived in real time so that the user cannot efficiently utilize theadditional information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an additional information processing apparatus and method forgrouping additional information contained in a broadcast signal by type,for transmitting the grouped additional information, for selectivelyacquiring additional information on only the type desired by a user, forsubdividing information based on the type of additional informationreceived, and for displaying the subdivided information on a televisionscreen.

Accordingly, to achieve the above object of the invention, there isprovided an additional information transmitting apparatus for processingadditional information for a TV broadcast signal. The apparatusincludes: an additional information class code insertion unit forreceiving the additional information to be embedded in the broadcastsignal, and for inserting a class code indicating the type of theadditional information; and a multiplexer for multiplexing coded videodata, coded audio data and the additional information, including theclass code, and for outputting a single bit stream.

To achieve the above object of the invention, there is also provided anapparatus for processing additional information embedded in a TVbroadcast signal. The apparatus includes: a demultiplexer for separatingvideo data, audio data and the additional information from a channeldecoded broadcasting signal; a controller for receiving the additionalinformation separated by the demultiplexer, for extracting an additionalinformation class code from the additional information, and forgenerating an additional information storage control signal and anadditional information display control signal when the extractedadditional information class code is included in additional informationclass codes selected by a user; a memory for storing the additionalinformation in an area assigned to the type of additional information inresponse to the additional information storage control signal; anadditional information class display signal generator for generatingimage data to display the type of information corresponding to theextracted additional information class code on a screen in response tothe additional information display control signal; and a video signalprocessor for decoding the video data separated by the demultiplexer,for mixing the decoded video data and the image data generated from theadditional information class display signal generator, and forperforming signal processing on the mixed result for display on the TVscreen.

To achieve the above object of the invention, there is also provided amethod of processing additional information embedded in a TV broadcastsignal. The method includes the steps of (a) extracting an additionalinformation class code from the additional information being received,(b) determining whether the extracted additional information class codeconforms to a condition of the acquisition of additional information setby a user, and (c) separately storing the additional information in amemory according to its type and displaying the type of additionalinformation on a TV screen when it is determined that the extractedadditional information class code conforms to the condition of theacquisition of additional information set by the user in step (b).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the attendantadvantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which likereference numerals indicate the same or similar components, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an additional information transmittingapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an additional information processingapparatus in a television according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of processing additional informationaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an additional information transmittingapparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, anadditional information transmitting apparatus according to the presentinvention includes a multiplexer 101, an additional information classcode insertion unit 102, a modulator 103 and a transmitting antenna 104.

Video and audio signals to be broadcast are separately MPEG-coded by adigital signal processor (DSP) (not shown), and are then inputted to themultiplexer 101. Additional information embedded in a broadcast signalis composed of a variety of contents, such as basic information as to aprogram and education, games and on-line commerce information.

The additional information class code insertion unit 102 subdividesadditional information by type according to its characteristics, andinserts into the additional information class codes denoting the typesof additional information. For example, the additional information issubdivided into general program information, education information, gameinformation and on-line commerce information.

The multiplexer 101 multiplexes the coded video and audio data, and theadditional information containing the class codes according to broadcaststandards, so as to output a single bit stream. Thereafter, themultiplexed data is modulated by the modulator 103, and is thentransmitted over the air through the transmitting antenna 104.

Since additional information contained in a broadcast signal transmittedfrom a broadcast station through such operations has class codesdenoting the types of additional information, a TV set can effectivelyprocess the additional information using the additional informationclass codes.

The additional information processing operation of a TV set receiving abroadcast signal will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown inFIG. 2, an additional information receiving apparatus in a TV accordingto the present invention includes an antenna 201, a tuner 202, a channeldecoder 203, a demultiplexer 204, a key input unit 205, a controller206, a memory 207, an audio decoder 208, a first digital-to-analog (D/A)converter 209, a speaker 210, a video decoder 211, a mixer 212, a seconddigital-to-analog (D/A) converter 213, an additional informationprocessor 214, an additional information class display signal generator215, and a display unit 216.

The audio decoder 208 and the first digital-to-analog (D/A) converter209 are referred to as an audio signal processor 1000. The video decoder211, the mixer 212 and the second digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 213are referred to as a video signal processor 2000.

When a user selects a channel to view after turning on the power of a TVset using a key button on the key input unit 205, the tuner 202 selectsand outputs the broadcast signal of the selected channel among thebroadcast signals received through the antenna 201 or an input terminal.Then, the channel decoder 203 recovers a digital signal detected fromthe broadcast signal of the selected channel in packet units, andoutputs the recovered packet data to the demultiplexer 204. Thedemultiplexer 204 separates the recovered packet data into audio data,video data and additional information data and outputs the separateddata in the form of individual bit streams.

Then, the audio data is decoded by the audio decoder 208, converted intoan analog signal by the first digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 209, andthen finally output through the speaker 210. The video data is decodedby the video decoder 211. Thereafter, the decoded video data, additionalinformation-processed data and additional information class displayimage data are mixed by the mixer 212. The mixed data is converted intoan analog signal by the second digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 213,and is then finally output through the display unit 216.

The additional information data output from the demultiplexer 204 isprocessed by the controller 206. Once the additional information isreceived, the controller 206 extracts an additional information classcode from the additional information. As described in FIG. 1, theadditional information class code denotes the type of additionalinformation which has been inserted into the broadcast signal when thebroadcast signal is transmitted from a broadcast station.

Thereafter, the controller 206 determines whether the extractedadditional information class code satisfies the conditions of theacquisition of additional information. Here, the term “conditions of theacquisition of additional information” denotes information as to theselection of the type(s) of additional information, desired to beacquired from the additional information contained in the broadcastsignal, as designated by the user using a key in the key input unit 205.For example, when the user intends to use general program informationand education information only from the additional information received,the types of additional information to be selected are restricted to theprogram information and education information in a user mode for theconditions of the acquisition of additional information. When the userintends to acquire all types of additional information, a default modeis selected.

The controller 206 determines whether the additional information classcode extracted from the received additional information is the same asthe class code of the type selected by the user. When the extractedadditional information class code is the same as the class code of theadditional information selected by the user, the controller 206 controlsthe received additional information corresponding to the class code sothat it is stored in a corresponding area of the memory 207, which isdivided into a plurality of areas for each type of additionalinformation.

When the extracted additional information class code is the same as theclass code of the type selected by the user, the controller 206 alsooutputs an additional information display control signal correspondingto the additional information class code to the additional informationclass display signal generator 215. In addition, the controller 206reads additional information from the memory 207 in response to anadditional information processing command received from the key inputunit 205.

Next, the additional information class display signal generator 215generates image data for displaying the type of additional informationin response to the additional information display control signal. Forexample, the image data can be programmed into icon image dataimplicitly representing the type of additional information. Theadditional information processor 214 edits the additional information infield or frame units to generate additional information image data.

The mixer 212 mixes the decoded video signal, the additional informationimage data generated from the additional information processor 214, andthe additional information class display image data generated from theadditional information class display signal generator 215. The mixedsignal is converted into an analog signal by the seconddigital-to-analog (D/A) converter 213, and is then outputted through thedisplay unit 216.

A method of processing additional information in a TV according to thepresent invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2and 3. In step 301, a user sets the conditions for the acquisition ofadditional information using a function key in the key input unit 205.For example, the conditions of the acquisition of additional informationare largely set by a default mode and a user mode. In the default mode,all types of additional information received are separately stored bytype in the memory 207, and the additional information currently beingreceived is displayed on a screen regardless of the type of additionalinformation. In the user mode, among all types of additional informationreceived, only additional information of the type selected by the useris stored by type in the memory 207, and the type of additionalinformation is displayed on a screen when the additional information ofthe type selected by the user is received.

Next, in step 302, it is determined whether additional information iscontained in a broadcast signal being received. If additionalinformation is detected in the broadcast signal, in step 303, anadditional information class code is extracted in the additionalinformation.

Then, in step 304, the extracted additional information class code isanalyzed to determine whether it satisfies the conditions of theacquisition of additional information set by the user. In other words,when the user mode has been set by the user, it is determined whetherthe extracted additional information class code corresponds to the typeof additional information selected by the user.

Based on the result of analysis instep 304, in step 305, the additionalinformation received is classified and stored by type in the memory 207according to the extracted additional information class code in thedefault mode. The additional information received is stored at apredetermined area in the memory 207 according to its additionalinformation class code only when the received additional informationcorresponds to the type selected by the user in the user mode.

In step 306, in the user mode, an image representing the type of theadditional information is displayed on a screen, regardless of the typeof additional information corresponding to the extracted additionalinformation class code. In the user mode, when the type of additionalinformation being received is the same as that selected by the user, animage representing the type of additional information corresponding tothe additional information class code contained in the selectedadditional information is displayed on the screen. In this case, animage representing the type of additional information can be programmedas an icon. For example, general program information is represented by(i), education information is represented by (e), game information isrepresented by (g), and on-line commerce information is represented by(c), in the form of icons. These icons are displayed on a part of thescreen to inform the user of the type of additional information beingreceived in real time.

Through such a configuration and method, only additional information ofthe type desired by a user is selectively acquired from the varioustypes of additional information contained in a broadcast signal. Thetype of additional information received in real time is classifiedaccording to its characteristics, and is displayed on a screen in detailso that a user can clearly understand the type of additional informationbeing received currently.

The present invention can be realized as a method, an apparatus, asystem and so on. When the present invention is realized as software,the members of the present invention are code segments which executenecessary operations. Programs or code segments may be stored in aprocessor readable medium, or may be transmitted by a transmissionmedium or by a computer data signal combined with a carrier in acommunication network. The processor readable medium may be any mediumwhich can store or transmit information, such as an electronic circuit,a semiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flash memory, an E²ROM, a floppydisc, an optical disc, a hard disc, an optical fiber medium, or a radiofrequency (RF) network. The computer data signal may be any signal whichcan be transmitted through a transmission medium, such as an electronicnetwork channel, an optical fiber, air, an electromagnetic field, or anRF network.

According to the present invention, additional information contained ina broadcast signal is classified before transmission by type accordingto its characteristics. In a receiving party, only the additionalinformation of the type (s) desired by a user is selected and acquiredfrom the additional information being received, and the type(s) ofadditional information acquired is displayed on a screen in real time.Accordingly, only the additional information needed by the user isselectively stored in a memory so that the memory can be efficientlyused. Since the type(s) of additional information received is displayedon the screen in detail, the user can easily understand the type(s) ofadditional information being received currently so that the additionalinformation can be effectively used. In addition, subdivided additionalinformation suitable for the various classes of TV viewers can bedeveloped so that additional information contents can be efficientlydeveloped.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particularembodiments, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artthat modifications to the described embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it isobvious that the present invention is not restricted to the specificstructures or arrangements shown or described in this specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for processing additionalinformation embedded in a television (TV) broadcast signal, saidapparatus comprising: a demultiplexer for separating video data, audiodata and the additional information from a channel decoded broadcastsignal; a controller for receiving the additional information separatedby the demultiplexer, for extracting an additional information classcode from the additional information, and for generating an additionalinformation storage control signal and an additional information displaycontrol signal when the extracted additional information class code isincluded in additional information class codes selected by a user; amemory responsive to the additional information storage control signalfrom said controller for storing the additional information in an areaassigned to a type of the additional information; an additionalinformation class display signal generator responsive to the additionalinformation display control signal from said controller for generatingimage data for displaying on a screen a type of informationcorresponding to the extracted additional information class code; and avideo signal processor for decoding the video data separated by thedemultiplexer, for mixing the decoded video data and the image datagenerated by the additional information class display signal generatorto obtain a mixed result, and for performing signal processing on themixed result for display on a screen, wherein the image data generatedby the additional information class display signal generator is iconimage data representing the type of additional information.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the image data generated by the additionalinformation class display signal generator is icon image data presentingthe type of additional information.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a tuner for receiving and tuning the TV broadcast signal toproduce a tuner output, and a channel decoder for channel decoding thetuner output to produce the channel decoded broadcast signal.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a key input unit connected toan input of said controller and operable by the user for selecting theadditional information class codes.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid video signal processor comprises: a video decoder for receiving anddecoding the video data separated by said demultiplexer to produce thedecoded video data; a mixer connected to said video decoder and to saidadditional information class display signal generator for mixing thedecoded video data and the image data generated by said additionalinformation class display signal generator; and a digital-to-analogconverter connected to said mixer for converting the mixer output to ananalog signal for driving a display unit to obtain the display on thescreen.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising an additionalinformation processor connected to an output of said controller and toan input of said mixer for generating additional information image dataand for providing the additional information image data to said mixer,said mixer mixing the additional information image data with the decodedvideo data and the image data generated by said additional informationclass display signal generator.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising an audio signal processor connected to said demultiplexer forreceiving and processing the audio data separated from the channeldecoded broadcast signal by said demultiplexer.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein said audio signal processor comprises: an audio decoderfor decoding the audio data separated from the channel decoded broadcastsignal by said demultiplexer to obtain an audio decoder output; and adigital-to-analog converter for converting the audio decoder output toan analog output for driving a speaker.
 9. A method of processingadditional information embedded in a television broadcast signal, themethod comprising the steps of: (a) extracting an additional informationclass code from the embedded additional information; (b) determiningwhether the extracted additional information class code conforms to acondition of acquisition of the additional information; (c) generatingan additional information display control signal when the extractedadditional information class code conforms to the condition ofacquisition of the additional information; and (d) displaying the typeof the additional information on a screen in response to the additionalinformation display control signal when it is determined that theextracted additional information class code conforms to the condition ofthe acquisition of the additional information set by the user, whereinthe type of the additional information is displayed on the screen in theform of icon images specified for each type of additional information.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the type of the additionalinformation is displayed on the screen in the form of icon imagesspecified for each type of additional information.
 11. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the type of the additional information is displayedthrough a light emitting device in the form of icon images specified foreach type of additional information.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinthe condition of acquisition of the additional information is set by adefault mode in which all types of received additional information arestored separately by type, and additional information currently beingreceived is displayed regardless of type.
 13. The method of claim 9,wherein the condition of acquisition of the additional information isset by a user mode in which only additional information of a typeselected by the user is stored and is displayed.
 14. The method of claim9, wherein step (c) further comprises generating an additionalinformation storage control signal when the extracted additionalinformation class code conforms to the condition of acquisition of theadditional information; and wherein step (d) comprises separatelystoring the additional memory in a memory in response to the additionalinformation storage control signal.
 15. An apparatus for processingadditional information embedded in a television broadcast signal, saidapparatus comprising: a demultiplexer for receiving a broadcast signal,and for separating the additional information from at least one of videodata and audio data in the broadcast signal; a controller for receivingthe additional information separated by the demultiplexer, forextracting an additional information class code from the additionalinformation, and for generating an additional information displaycontrol signal when the extracted additional information class code isincluded in additional information class codes selected by a user; anadditional information class display signal generator responsive to theadditional information display control signal from said controller forgenerating image data for displaying on a screen a type of informationcorresponding to the extracted additional information class code; and avideo signal processor for processing the image data generated by theadditional information class display signal generator, and to mix theimage data with the video data to obtain a signal for display on ascreen, wherein the image data generated by the additional informationclass display signal generator is icon image data presenting the type ofadditional information.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the imagedata generated by the additional information class display signalgenerator is icon image data presenting the type of additionalinformation.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a tunerfor receiving and tuning the television broadcast signal to produce atuner output, and a channel decoder for channel decoding the tuneroutput to produce a channel decoded broadcast signal comprising thebroadcast signal received by the demultiplexer.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 15, further comprising a key input unit connected to an input ofsaid controller and operable by the user for selecting the additionalinformation class codes.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein saidvideo signal processor comprises: a video decoder for receiving anddecoding video data separated by said demultiplexer to produce thedecoded video data; a mixer connected to said video decoder and to saidadditional information class display signal generator for mixing thedecoded video data and the image data generated by said additionalinformation class display signal generator; and a digital-to-analogconverter connected to said mixer for converting the mixer output to ananalog signal for driving a display unit to obtain the display on thescreen.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising an additionalinformation processor connected to an output of said controller and toan input of said mixer for generating additional information image dataand for providing the additional information image data to said mixer,said mixer mixing the additional information image data with the decodedvideo data and the image data generated by said additional informationclass display signal generator.
 21. The apparatus of claim 15, furthercomprising an audio signal processor connected to said demultiplexer forreceiving and processing audio data separated from the broadcast signalby said demultiplexer.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said audiosignal processor comprises: an audio decoder for decoding the audio dataseparated from the broadcast signal by said demultiplexer to obtain anaudio decoder output; and a digital-to-analog converter for convertingthe audio decoder output to an analog output for driving a speaker. 23.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said controller generates anadditional information storage control signal, said apparatus furthercomprising a memory responsive to the additional information storagecontrol signal for storing the additional information in an areaassigned to a type of the additional information.
 24. A method ofprocessing additional information embedded in a television broadcastsignal, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the televisionbroadcast signal; extracting the additional information from thereceived television broadcast signal; generating an display imagecorresponding to the extracted additional information; and displayingthe generated display image on the screen; wherein the generated displayimage is an icon image representing the extracted additional informationand having type information indicating a type of the additionalinformation.
 25. A method of processing additional information embeddedin a television broadcast signal, the method comprising the steps of:receiving the television broadcast signal; extracting the additionalinformation from the received television broadcast signal; extracting aclass code which includes information for specifying the extractedadditional information; generating a display image corresponding to theextracted additional information based on the extracted class code;displaying the generated display image on the screen.
 26. The method ofclaim 25, wherein the class code indicates the type of the additionalinformation, and the types of additional information comprises generalprogram information, education information, game information, andon-line commerce information.
 27. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thetype of the additional information is displayed through a light emittingdevice in the form of icon images specified for each type of additionalinformation.
 28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the video signalprocessor outputs to a display unit in real time the icon image datacorresponding to additional information that is being received by theapparatus.
 29. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the type informationidentifies the type of the additional information.
 30. The apparatus ofclaim 29, wherein the type of the additional information indicated bythe type information includes general program information, educationinformation, game information, and on-line commerce information.